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Topic: clear bra ? (Read 10722 times)

I am going to get my car clear bra'd here shortly, but the front has a lot of the little white specs in the paint from the road crap, but no major chips. If i clear bra over this will they be visible or will they kind of blend in? I am trying to not have to repaint the whole front end, but i don't want any major chips.. Any advise?

Rocky Mountain Club B5

jack - is your guy closer to the north end of town? Jon recommened IDS but they are in the south end of town. I don't have any scratches, just a bunch of little pin sized pit marks. I think them should disappear pretty well as they are only noticible in certain light and up close (2-3 feet). Maybe i will go see your guy and see what he has to say.

A different perspective: I'm not happy with my clear bra. There is nothing wrong with the bra itself, I just don't like the results. The clear bra was installed at the dealer, so it's been on since the beginning. I have just the hood and fenders done. The clear bra in places has dings and ridges where rocks have hit it (not quite sure how to describe the plastic the results in a series of bumps away from the initial impact point, like ripples from a rock tossed into a pond). Beyond the clear bra, on the hood and fenders, chips abound, as the amount of sand dumped on the roads here sucks. It just doesn't look good anymore.

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"The corruption of man is followed by corruption of language." -Emerson

so should i actually put the clear bra on? or just deal with it and maybe get the front end repainted in a couple years? My concern is the clear bra is going to keep the part it covers clean from chips, but above it and around it will still get chipped so i am still back at the same point in the end. If the material moves and shifts when it gets hit, i think it will look like ass. so i may not really be worth it..

The install was fine; at least I have no problems with it. What bugs me the most is that to be really effective, I would have to clear bra the entire car. I've got paint chips on the A-pillar, B-pillar, edges of the rear windows, and from the halfway point (roughly) on my hood it looks like someone swept a media blaster across it (okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it does aggravate me). It just seems impractical to clear bra only a small portion of the front end, especially in this state, when the rest of the paint takes such a beating anyways.

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"The corruption of man is followed by corruption of language." -Emerson

The install was fine; at least I have no problems with it. What bugs me the most is that to be really effective, I would have to clear bra the entire car. I've got paint chips on the A-pillar, B-pillar, edges of the rear windows, and from the halfway point (roughly) on my hood it looks like someone swept a media blaster across it (okay, maybe it's not that bad, but it does aggravate me). It just seems impractical to clear bra only a small portion of the front end, especially in this state, when the rest of the paint takes such a beating anyways.

My installer did clearbra the front end of the hood, along with the A-pillars, and the front side of the mirrors.

I do know some guys (all M5 owners BTW, hmmmm?) that have done clear bra on their entire hood, A-pillars, mirrors, and the leading edge of the roof line.

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Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein

I have clear bra only on part of the hood (about the first 2 feet), the door handle scoops, and the part between the rear doors and the wheel well opening. After 5 years the clear bra is dulling (even after thorough polishing) and turning yellow, and I had removed the clear bra that was applied behind the rear doors as the edges were delaminating and collecting dirt. I'll probably replace my clear bra next year.

when I had the subie done by IDS...they did the front bumper, all the way down and around, lights, fogs, hood, a pillars, roof line, mirrors, door handles, and gas door (so I can push on that to close it without scratching it up. They did a great job and wrapped the clear bra around the the edges of the hood, and on the roof and apillars, they even tucked it under the window moldings...so no way to get chips on the leading edges. Everything was done for $450, and they gave a lifetime warranty for every piece...17 sectons total.

So, that being said, I would recommend it, if they protect the edges of the hood and wrap the clear bra around, same on the fenders, etc. If those edges get chipped up, then what does it matter, you still have to repaint it and you have chips...then it is not worth it.

I think I will be replacing my clear bra very soon as it is 5 years old and has become very hazy and yellowed (polishing and waxing could only do so much).

IDS looks like they do an awesome job, but I think it's a little overkill for my car, and it's more than I really want to spend. Almost all of the chips and scratches happen on first 2 feet of the front of my car, so just doing part of the hood and possibly the bumper would be good enough for me.

I'm not sure what Pro-Tint uses for the clear bra either, I didn't inquire since I already have one.

Also, Dan Held runs a company called TinTeks http://www.tinteks.com they use 3M clear bra. Seems like he might go the extra mile as well.

So it looks like there are a number of options for clear bra.

Yep Thanks Jay.

been doing clear bra since it was released back in the mid 90s before anyone knew what it was.there has been a few different bra materials thats have not held up and have actually ruined the clear coat on the cars.tons of cars from Mcdonald Automotive had this product installed on all the cars through that dealership. the company that did them closed there doors and moved and changed there name.i wont name any names as to who did the installs and had the issues and created a huge bad name for the clear bra industry.i have used pretty much all the products out there and 3m and xpel are among the best.3m has gotton alot clearer through the years. xpel has a few different material that are virtually crystal clear.some have slight orange peel effect.i can wrap and install clear bra anywhere you feel you might need it.i also wrap all edges and pull grills etc if needed. most dealer installs seem to do alot of slap jobs and depending on the color of the vehicle plays a roll on the outcome usually. darker cars if not installed correct by the installer with the correct solutions show stretch/lift marks. which look terrible.its just sad with all these pre cut easy install kits have really saturated the business and i feel gives a bad name to the guy that actually do quality installs without butchering and cutting on the paint. it is really a art that takes years to know what and how to do.

if any of you have questions i would be happy to explain so you know.did a full font end wrap on this not long ago.kinda hard to see on it but it came out excellent. emblem was pulled, 24" hood wrapped, tips,full front bumper wrap corner to corner,headlights, fogs, mirrors,door handles, pillars, behind wheels wells for tire kick up.i do lots of work for the high end autos and they are among the pickiest and i make sure its nothing more then superb.

Eric - I say go for it. Yes some chips below the surface of clear will show depending on how bad they are.

On top of all that i can vouch for Dan from Tintek. I had him do Christy's NB vert. It had some tiny to small chips in the bumper and after the clear coat some were still still visible. I knew that would proably happen but the NB was used with some chips. It has held up pretty well. I do need to make a visit to have Dan re do the mirrors since there is peeling arounf the lower edges and getting dirt in the dried up adhesive.

I compare that to the Eurovan which was purchased new. I didn't have the coin to get the clear bra and after a few winter things got pretty chipped up. Now it is looking rough. I wish I had done it right when it was new.

Just make sure you use someone reputable and backs it with a warranty.

it does depend how chipped up it is.if a car comes in and has some minor chips i do touch up with slight wet sanding and buffing aswell as a few other tricks i have to hid them when the bra is put on.

thanks Rob. must of been awhile since i worked on the NB. i lose count of all the cars i tough im sure i will remember it when i see it.no problem on the mirrors. just give me a ring and we can set up a time to redo those. some mirrors do have alot of contour and over time like to shrink up depending on how much of a stretch it is. i trie to go to edge to edge as much as possible. but sometimes its not doable and over stretches the material and pull back occurs down the road. i warranty all my craftsmanship as well as the product. that is why i only carry the highend good stuff. that goes with window films too.3m is i believe 7 years. most others are 5 years. it all plays a roll on how you maintain it and keep it clean too. most owners trade there cars every few years.

Dan, can you recommend a method to remove an existing one? I have one that is about 6 years old on my Jetta and it is getting kind of nasty looking. I'd like to take it off, clean up the paint a bit, then probably see about having you putting a new one on. Thanks.

i use some plastic scraping tools to be careful with the paint. with some solvent that will help lift the glue. possibly goof off would work.i use a 3m solvent. it really depends on how stuck and weathered the material is. a heat gun helps too. sometimes when its really bad material it wants to come off in small chunks and takes a decent amount of time and patients.

then once its off a good buff and polish will be good to clean it all up.hope that helps Keith.

We ended up moving Dec 07 back to NH. It was a sudden thing. We flew out to NH the first week of November and bought another house. 2 weeks later we packed up the truck and moved east. There were a few medical things that came up that nessitated a quick move. we have had some wild hard winter back here. I miss the mtns of CO and the nice mild winter of Denver. But we are happy back here. :-)